EDS: Earth Defense Society
by SodaFiz
Summary: Humanity is enslaved. Zim rules earth. Dib has been driven into hiding, but refuses to give up. He founds the Earth Defense Society, an anonymous group of people brave enough to try taking back Earth from the Irken clutches, but victory won't come easy. Dib and his friends might just have to search the stars to find someone willing to help them put a stop to the Irkens' tyranny.
1. The Idea

**Chapter 1: The Idea  
**

The night was dark with a chill in the air. The moon cast its pale glowing shadow across the city overrun with Irken soldiers. What once had been a city full of humans going to the late night clubs and restaurants or getting home from evening jobs had now become a quiet, desolate place. Many buildings were dark, people hiding in their homes. The few lights that were on must have had very daring citizens in those rooms. Very few humans roamed the streets, mostly those with passes allowing them to commute from their life draining jobs. Many humans came home with scars on their skin, evidence of the beatings and shocks they received when they showed exhaustion in their work. Sleep was now a luxury. Even though the Irkens had set hours when the humans had to stop their jobs and go home, many people stayed awake at night, terrified of whatever unfortune might happen upon them next.

Though the day was equally as terrifying, much more happened under the cover of darkness. Secret meetings were occasionally held. Kids would sneak out at night for just one hope of meeting their buddies to spend precious time together. Few friendships could be kept nowadays, as not many had the time. Too busy was what the Irkens told humanity. They were too busy serving the empire to be socializing. Some wondered whether the real reason was that they just didn't want secret collaborations trying to overthrow the rulers.

On this dusky, foggy night a peculiar dark figure could be seen racing between the lowly lit alleyways. Covered by the darkness it flitted from shadow to shadow, perhaps hoping to throw off anyone who might be tailing it.

The figure stopped just beneath the broken sign of an old rundown apartment building. The building itself was made of bricks with several boarded windows in horizontal rows. The main metal entrance door stood closed, and if one tried it would not open easily from the outside. Some of the windows almost looked like they were glowing, but the boards tacked over the glass kept anyone from investigating.

Rapping three times, waiting three seconds, then rapping three times again, the cloaked figure waited patiently outside the door. Something buzzed in the corner. A small security camera looked down at the figure. It moved once or twice, inspecting the visitor.

Finally another figure opened a window in the door. A white face mask revealing only the figure's eyes staring at the visitor through the opening. "Name, password, and identification," said a masculine voice beneath the mask.

"Lupus. We beat around the bush," answered the visitor in a feminine tone as she flashed a golden watch in front of the white face. In small red letters it conveyed the current time like it was supposed to, but briefly it flashed to display a different text: that night's date and the time of which the visitor had arrived a few minutes beforehand.

The white face glanced behind the visitor before dipping its head and shutting the opening. A chain rattled against the door's interior and soon it was slid open to reveal the full body of the figure inside, draped in a cloak not unlike what the visitor wore. "Welcome back, Agent Lupus," he said with a twinkle of recognition in his eyes.

The visitor dipped her head with a polite nod. She wore a mask, white and full faced, just like the man in front of her. "Likewise, Agent Fox," she said stepping swiftly into the room. Fox quickly shut the door behind her, locking the chain in place.

Fox and Lupus now stood in a long hall of apartment doors. At the other end was a doorway to a room of stairs ascending into the upper stories of the building. The hall was dark and narrow with paint peeling off the walls and trash littering the floor. Lupus blinking, staring at the staircase.

"Floor three, apartment twenty-eight, like last time," said Fox. "I'll be up once I'm sure the coast is clear."

Lupus nodded and ventured forward, her long cloak sweeping behind her. Reaching the stairs, she climbed up two flights before arriving at floor three. The hallway was similar to the one downstairs. She surveyed her surroundings quickly before heading down the hall. She found room twenty-eight easily and knocked on the door the same way she had the first time.

She had to complete the entering ritual a second time, reciting the password, her name, and flashing her identification watch. A second masked figure let her into the apartment. "Welcome, Agent Lupus," greeted the feminine voice who faced her.

"Thank you, Agent Chupa." Lupus entered the room to see a dozen other agents all dressed in cloaks and white masks. Some were seated on the floor, one on a stool, two at a small table, and a handful on a couch. In an armchair near the corner of the room sat a man with a similar black cloak, but a different mask. It was white like the rest, but instead was very birdlike with a protruding beak that covered his entire face. It reminded Lupus of the plague doctors she had once learned about back in school, though this man's bird beak was much smaller than the doctors pictured in textbooks. Unlike the rest of the party, his eyes could not be seen, hidden behind obscured eyeholes like those of a gas mask. "Welcome, Lupus," he said rather informally for their group, failing to put "Agent" into the title. But he was allowed to, for he was the founder, the leader of their secret society.

"A pleasure to see you, Agent Mothman," she replied.

"Is Fox coming up soon?" he asked.

"He said he was."

"Well then, make yourself comfortable. The rest of you just busy yourselves until everyone is present."

Quiet conversation filled the air. They all were careful of how many decibels they allowed their voices to reach, as anything near yelling could be heard through the window. The Irkens had good hearing; loud conversation could not be risked.

Several minutes ticked by. Lupus glanced at her watch multiple times. Though it was for identification, she often found it handy for the purpose it was supposed to serve: displaying the time of day.

Soft footsteps were heard from outside the door and Agent Chupa greeted someone at the door. The familiar voice of Fox rang through the entrance hallway. He identified himself properly and was soon ushered inside before Chupa locked the door for good. He settled himself next to Lupus, who had perched her own self onto the floor a couple agents from Mothman.

"Everyone here?" he said in deadpan tone.

The rest of the agents all nodded. "Okay good," he continued. "Welcome to the bi-weekly meeting of EDS, the Earth Defense Society.

"Now, a quick update on our progress. We've hit them hard in that one supply center in Sector Two. Their weapons and snack rations have decreased in that part of the sector, but quickly they're delivering more food from other planets. Our next task will be infiltrating Irken Weapon Storage Facility Four in Sector One."

Murmurs of surprise and concern were heard through the party. "But Sir, that's one of the most well-guarded facilities in this whole city," cried Chupa. "It would be suicide to go there."

The bird mask shifted slowly, as if he was pondering her statement. "I know," he finally replied. "But our progress lately has been slow and we need to make our next move. Remember, I'm not forcing any of you to do this. If no one volunteers to help, then I will do it myself."

"I volunteer, Agent Mothman," piped Lupus, sitting up a little straighter.

The masked leader nodded. "Thank you, Lupus. Anyone else?"

"I will," volunteered Fox.

"Count me in," echoed Chupa.

All the other agents hesitated. Mothman's invisible eyes travelled over them all, lingering an extra second on Lupus. "You know you don't have to," he stated. "I think four agents will be enough."

"That's the thing, Agent Mothman," said one of the male agents on the couch. "I'm glad to be defending our planet, but I still have a family to support. My kids are too young to work yet and my wife takes care of them at home, so I work everyday to earn enough food for them. I don't want to risk my family losing the sole support they have. Considering the state of society right now, you never know who will disappear next. The aliens punish us for the smallest of things."

"Well spoken, Agent Yeti," replied Mothman. He glanced up at the crowd. "Unless someone else wants to volunteer, this meeting is adjourned. I will send the plans discreetly to each one of you who volunteered."

No answers came from the crowd. Mothman nodded and said, "Alright, the meeting is over. Please leave one at a time surreptitiously, as you all know how."

Every few minutes an agent would leave. One by one they dispersed, leaving through the doors and trailing into the street. They disappeared like phantoms into the shadows, ready to blend back into the dystopian society they had been forced to become an unfortunate part of. After an hour only two agents remained: Lupus and Mothman.

"Mothman..." began Lupus, but the other agent put up his hand. Frowning, Lupus glanced around the room, searching for any possible signs of eavesdrop, but no one else remained. All the windows were boarded and they had already conducted a sweep for bugs and cameras at the beginning of the meeting. Lupus shook her head and reached for her mask. At the same time she pulled back her head, revealing a head of thick, curly brown hair. Removing her mask, her blue eyes gazed at Mothman in concern.

Mothman hesitated, returning her gaze, his mask intimidating. She shivered as she gazed back at the obscured dark eyeholes. Finally Mothman slowly removed his mask and lowered his hood. His black, scythe-like hair left its cloth hood, standing up with a backwards point, just like Lupus had known it to back when they were teenagers. "Maven," he stated monotonically.

"Dib."

He had grown older of course, now in his early twenties. He still looked much like they had when he was a teenager, but his amber eyes had an older, more wise look. He was taller, too, but the glasses he always wore remained. After all, he couldn't see without them. The few who saw his face often thought he looked emotionless, but Maven knew it was just a mask he wore in these hard times. One had to be emotionless in order to protect themselves against the torture this new alien-run society had demonstrated.

He winced, like the sound of his real name brought back bad memories. "Why are you still here?" he asked, still quite monotone but with a hint of curious concern.

She took a step towards him and kneeled, placing her hands on his forearms in a gesture of friendliness and comfort. She felt the roughness of his black coat beneath her fingertips. He did not react. "You know why I stayed," she replied, frowning slightly. "I wanted to talk to you after the meeting and… I was worried about you."

He sighed and placed a single hand over her wrist. "You didn't have to. You should go. You need to wake up early tomorrow because you work and your watched extra carefully because Zim knows we were friends before he took over."

" _Are_ friends, Dib, not _were,_ " Maven corrected. "We still are friends."

Dib's expression turned somber. "Not in the public eye."

"But we're not in the public eye right now, are we?"

"True, but… I still worry, Mae. Zim's been hunting me for months now. He knows I've made a secret society to defend Earth and he's trying to destroy both it and me. Thank goodness none of our members' real identities are known, but… still I worry."

She sighed. "I know," she answered softly. "Um… have there been any signs of your father or sister yet?"

He shook his head mournfully. "No."

Mae swallowed awkwardly. "So… what's our next move in EDS then?"

Dib suddenly stood up and strode across the room, making soft footsteps over the gray apartment's carpet. Throwing his mask onto the table, he pulled out a long scroll of paper and unrolled it. "I'm actually glad you asked. There's something I didn't mention during the meeting because it's kind of a big thing," he admitted.

Mae's eyebrows raised. "And what's that?" she inquired.

Dib pointed to the paper, tracing a circle around red notes written in a code he'd developed. "This map has the whole city on it. That's the storage facility we're going to infiltrate next. I'm hoping to get more weapons to help us gain better ground, but that's not the only reason..." He trailed off, hesitant to continue.

"Dib, tell me what you're planning," said Mae firmly, placing her hand on his shoulder.

He sighed. "I… I'm planning an assassination."

Her whole body went rigid and her eyes grew wide. "An _assassination?_ For who?"

"Zim and maybe the Tallest if we're lucky."

She didn't respond for several long moments. Dib shifted uneasily, staring at the map. "It's the only way to help cripple their forces," he explained. "At least without Zim ruling Earth it will give us the temporary advantage of possibly taking control once they have no leader here. Once we take back Earth, we can gather resources and an army to fight against the Irkens."

"And who will do that?" Mae demanded. "The government? The military? They fell to pieces once the Irkens took control."

A determined look graced Dib's features."I will," he said. "And you and the rest of EDS, if they agree to participate, can then gather recruits and help the people who were treated cruelly by the Irkens."

Mae's frown did not disappear just yet. "Okay, assuming this all does work, what then? We just build a few spaceships in record time and go to battle? Have you seen the _size_ of their armada? Not to mention there will still be thousands of Irken soldiers already on Earth if we did take it back. How will we combat them? They're all over the globe right now and we can't be everywhere at once. They might decide to hold hostages. Just because the main leader is gone, it doesn't mean the cause will stop." She stopped, breathing heavily.

"I know! I know!" cried Dib. "There are many flaws in my plan, but it's the only one I've got. Can't we at least try? If anything does go wrong, we can always abandon the plan. Zim may know our society exists, but he doesn't know who its members are except that I'm the head, and he hasn't been able to find me yet." He suddenly stood up and turned to face her, placing both his hands on her shoulders, his amber eyes meeting her ocean blue. "I don't expect you to help me with the assassination. You're already helping me with the next infiltration, so I understand if you don't want to place your life in danger for the umpteenth time, but..." His gaze fell and he found himself looking at the ground. "Would you want to help me assassinate Zim?" he asked quietly. "And… and if all goes well, take back Earth?"

Mae smiled and suddenly shot forward, throwing her arms around his neck in a tight embrace. "Of course I will," she whispered. "We can't let the Irkens squash the hope out of us, but..." She drew back, her arms dropping to her sides. He looked at her curiously. "Are you sure there isn't another way? A safer, less risky one?"

Dib shook his head. "Unless you can think of one, I don't have any other ideas. Our resources are depleted enough already and I'm pretty sure most of the other agents are losing hope in EDS. We need to do something drastic soon, or else I fear Earth may lose hope altogether."

Mae stepped back and placed her mask back on. "Well then, Agent Mothman," she said rather grimly, but not without a small smile. "We should be going. You'll fill us in on the plans soon, right?"

Smiling, Dib refitted his own mask into place. "Of course, Agent Lupus. I don't have an exact day planned, but it will be soon."

Nodding, Mae turned to go, only to hear Dib call after her. "Oh, and please don't tell any of the other agents about the assassination just yet," he requested. "I'm not sure how they'll take the news. We should probably wait until we can discuss it further."

Mae turned back and dipped her head a second time. "Of course, Mothman." Then, she whipped back around and opened the door. It shut with a soft _click_ behind her. Breathing a long sigh of relief, Dib flipped the light switch, surrounding himself in a shroud of shadows. Exiting the building, he faded into the darkness of the night.


	2. The Idea's Solution

**Chapter 2: The Idea's Solution  
**

 _(Flashback)_

" _Why have you brought me here, Zim? You've had your victory. What do you want now?" growled Dib. He had on his signature trench coat, only the ends were tattered and smudged in dirt. The left lens of his glasses were cracked and several red marks marred his face, evidence of beatings. Two Irken guards held his arms firmly. Any struggle earned him a painful shock in his side from their electric prods._

 _Zim, still as short as ever, chuckled, standing in the inside of what once had been the town hall. Dib barely recognized it anymore. The walls been been repainted various shades of pink, chairs had been taken out, and the Irken insignia adorned almost every corner possible. Sitting in the very middle of the hall, opposite the door, was a cushioned magenta chair, put up exactly to Zim's liking. The Irken had dubbed himself the new King of Earth, second only to the Tallest, or at least Zim was in his own eyes._

" _I want you to witness the glorious devastation of your people, Dib," answered Zim. "The armada is circling overhead, ready to perform a planetary sweep at my command."_

 _Dib scowled. "But Zim, we're on Earth right now. Wouldn't a planetary sweep wipe out you and every Irken on Earth, as well?"_

 _A maniacal laugh burst forth from the Irken's mouth. "True that was for our past sweep lasers, but recently we have perfected them." Zim ventured forward and snatched one of the prods from a guard. He jabbed it into Dib's stomach. Crying out in pain, Dib fell to his knees, held only halfway up by the guards' grip on his arms._

" _Our new sweep beams have been altered to not destroy anything in its path, but instead vaporize any lifeform not bearing an Irken ID PAK. Considering every single Irken has one, we're all set." He turned away from the human, waving his prod in the air with an evil grin. "And then, Dib, we're going to convert your planet into whatever the Tallest see fit. SNOO!"_

 _A small Irken sprang forth from the crowd of guards. He wore neither guard armor nor an invader uniform, but a lab coat over a simple pink shirt and black pants. Sporting unusual brown eyes, he saluted with one free hand, his other holding what looked like a data pad. "Yes, sir?"_

 _Zim stared at him with a satisfied smirk. "Activate the countdown for the planetary sweep," he ordered.._

" _Yes, sir!" His index finger swiped across the screen of the data pad which faced away from Dib's field of vision, but Dib didn't need to be told what he was doing._

" _Activating planetary sweep in ten, nine, eight..." A monotone voice droned on, counting down to doom. "Seven, six, five, four, three, two-"_

" _WAIT!" screamed a familiar voice._

 _Zim barked a command for Snoo to pause the countdown. Snoo jumped, saluted a second time, and swiped his finger across the screen. Zim turned back to Dib. "What is it, human filth?" he growled._

 _Dib glared at the Irken, still kneeling in obvious pain. Trembling, he continued, "Zim, why destroy all humans? Why not keep us as slaves instead?"_

 _Zim stepped forward once more and slapped him across the face. "Foolish, Dib!" he yelled. "Do you think I would fall for your tricks? You're only trying to save your race's skin."_

" _Of course I am," Dib wheezed. "But Zim, wouldn't it make more logical sense to spare us? You could use the slave labor. After all, didn't the Resisty hit one of your planets hard? Specifically the main planet you use for manufacturing supplies?"_

 _Zim blinked, eyes wide._ How did the Dib know about that? _Turning away, he tapped his fingers together, pondering the options. Finally he turned back, displeased. "Alright, Dib." He spat the name like he tasted something vile. "I will spare your people, but just like you said they will be enslaved. No human will be left free. Those too young will become slaves as soon as they're old enough to work. Every human will be fitted with a monitoring device to ensure no one tries to rebel."_

 _Letting out a long breathe, Dib's head dropped in relief, but suddenly snapped back up when Zim's voice began again. "BUT!" he yelled. "You won't be around to witness it. Guards, execute him!"_

 _A sudden cry rang out followed by a shot. Something whizzed past Dib's ear and struck the guard on his left. Crying out, the guard fell to the ground, unmoving. Soon the other guard fell and the hall erupted into shrieks of chaos. Two cloaked figures burst into the room wielding guns. "SEIZE THEM!" screamed Zim._

 _Irken guards crowded the figures who refused to back down, all attention on them. A third black figure suddenly dropped from the ceiling and, while the Irkens were distracted, grasped Dib around the waist. The two figures reeled back upward, disappearing into an air vent. "Hey, the Dib filth is getting away! AFTER THEM!"_

BANG! BANG! _More Irkens fell and the two figures sprinted to a side door. Zim barked orders and several more guards went after them. "They were a distraction! Make sure neither they nor the Dib leaves here unscathed. Capture them at any cost, but kill them if you must!"_

 _The sounds of hundreds of guards shuffled through the main hall and all its side rooms. They searched for hours, even spreading out to the surrounding plot of land the main hall occupied, but it was too late. The kidnappers were gone._

* * *

 _Dib now found himself inside a dimly lit room, sitting in a creaking chair. The walls and floor were cement, indicating a basement. Old boxes, rakes, and various tools littered the room. The same three figures who had rescued him stood looking at him from a distance. One of them rushed forward and threw its hood down. Dib gasped. "Maven?"_

" _Hey, Dib," she said with a smile, stopping to stand before him._

 _The remaining figures stepped forward, also pulling their own hoods down. The first one, a tall man with combed brown hair and stubble on his chin, grinned. "Long time no see, buddy."_

" _Flynn?"_

 _The last figure pulled down her own hood. A young woman with black hair in a bob cut copied her friends' smiles. "Hey."_

 _Dib's eyes were like saucers. "Ita? How'd you guys find me?"_

 _Mae stepped back to stand by Flynn and Ita. "We just followed the sounds of Zim's incessant talking," she giggled briefly, but her face quickly took on a more serious expression. "We've actually been planning to rescue you for days. It was only today that we were able to get enough resources for it."_

 _Dib raised one eyebrow. "Resources like what? How'd you get them?"_

" _Like these babies," Flynn said with a grin, holding up two pistols he'd summoned from underneath his cloak._

" _Our other friends were able to smuggle us some supplies. Some of them had contacts who were able to provide the weapons for us," added Ita. "Remember them?"_

 _Dib nodded. "Yes, I remember them," he answered, remembering their meeting when they all took cover in an abandoned bunker once Irkens started flooding the streets. He and Mae had met a bunch of other hiding adults, who they befriended. Zim tracked them down eventually eventually, but they all had become familiar with each other, especially Dib, Mae, Flynn, and Ita._

" _You can stay here for now, Dib," said Mae. "However, the rest of us should get going."_

 _Dib's eyes widened. "Are you crazy?" he cried. "You're just going to go back out there?"_

 _Mae looked forlorn. "We don't want to, but Zim's been stalking us for days now. It was an extreme risk for us to leave our houses to rescue you, but it was worth it. Anyway, there should be some supplies and food around this basement. It's the safest place we could find." She knelt down and gave him a brief hug. "Zim wants you the most, so please try to keep out of sight."_

 _They left soon afterward, leaving Dib to explore the basement._

* * *

Dib sighed, pushing the memory from his mind, and went back to his notes. "What could possibly kill Zim?" he murmured. "Shooting? Unlikely. Zim's increased his security since the escape. There's almost no way we could infiltrate the town hall that easily a second time. Bombing? That may be plausible, although we'd have to find someplace the Irkens wouldn't look to hide the bomb."

Sighing a second time, he banged his head on the desk. "There's just no easy way to do this!" he complained to no one in particular. "EDS has since lost contacts with our weapon providers and we're severely limited on the ones stolen from the Irkens. Oh, if only Ita's uncle could have somehow hidden the guns in his weapon shop before the Irkens confiscated them."

Frustrated, he propped his head onto one of his hands and took a sip from a half-empty can of Poop soda. His friends had left him two cases worth. "Hmm… what other option is there?" he pondered, tapping his finger against the can while reading its nutritional facts.

Suddenly his eyes widened. "Food!" he cried. "Maven works in food preparation. That's it!"

He jumped to his feet, jostling the table. He sprinted to the wall, where his cloak and mask hung. Adorning them, he slipped the hood over his head and scurried up the stairs, escaping through the back door of the abandoned house and into the street. Like an EDS member, he swiftly disappeared into the shadows.

* * *

Mae jumped at the knock on her door. She peaked quickly through the curtains and gasped when a familiar masked figure stood on her front porch. Hurrying to the door, she popped the lock. "Dib?"

He whirled into the room, snapping the door shut behind him. Pulling off his mask, he tossed it onto her kitchen table before turning to face her himself. "I think I figured out how to kill Zim," he exclaimed.

She smirked. "You know, about a year ago that would have seemed like a weird sentence to say."

He rolled his eyes. "Maybe so, but never mind that. I know how we can assassinate Zim."

"Ok, but before you tell me, did anyone follow you?" She frowned. "It was foolish to come to my own house. You know I'm watched constantly."

"I'm confident I wasn't followed."

Sighing, Mae gestured to the couch in the living room which had no wall separating itself from the kitchen. "Alright then, but if an Irken soldier comes banging on the door, you get out of here, ok? For now, do you want anything? Coffee? Tea? I don't have much, as the Irkens aren't very generous, but I do have some beverages."

"Tea's fine."

She went to work filling a small teapot with water and setting it on the stove. Soon a low hum filled the air as the water began to heat. Mae entered the living room and joined Dib on the other edge of the couch. "So what's your idea?"

Dib was straight to the point. "Poison."

Mae's eyebrows raised. "Poison? How exactly do you expect to poison him?"

"You work in food preparation, right?"

"Yes..." she answered slowly.

He sat up a little straighter, a small smile gracing his lips. "Mae, you could slip a poison into something he's going to eat."

At first Maven looked thoughtful, but then she frowned. "But Dib, I'm not his personal chef. I make food that every Irken eats. Yes, sometimes what I make does go to Zim, but oftentimes it goes to feed the soldiers. Wouldn't that be a wild game of chance?"

He leaned forward even farther, placing his elbows on his thighs. "I assume you've heard that Zim's celebrating his one year reign of earth in just a few days, right?"

"Yeah, it's been advertised like crazy all over those floating announcement screens."

"There might be a way for me to hack the Irkens' digital network here on earth that contains the assigned cooks for the celebration meal. Assuming I can reassign you to the former town hall kitchen, you could then slip the poison into one of the dishes Zim would be likely to eat. Do you have any idea what he might have at the celebration?"

Mae's brow crinkled and her bottom lip jutted out in a slight pout, as if she were thinking. "Well, I believe he has mentioned that there'll be cake and sandwiches. He even invited the Tallest themselves. If we could just put something into the cake, maybe we could get them all in one shot like you wanted?"

Dib let out a triumphant cry. "That's perfect. We might just have a chance!"

 _BANG. BANG._ Mae and Dib jumped to their feet, whipping their heads to look at the door. "Open up!" yelled a gruff voice. "Mandatory routine inspection!"

Mae's eyes went wide, her brows raised, and her jaw dropped. She glanced at Dib, horrified. Grabbing his mask from the counter, she shoved it into his arms and pushed him toward a flight of steps. "Upstairs!" she whispered fiercely. "There's a fire escape just outside my bedroom window. Now go!"

Dib darted up the steps just as the door burst open. Armed Irken guards marched into the room. Mae breathed deeply, wiping sweat from her brow as she turned to face them.


	3. Poisoned

**A/N: I'm enjoying writing this. I hope whoever reads this enjoys the story and the new chapter so far. Please review! Have a Happy New year! :D  
**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: Poisoned**

Mae found herself surrounded by three tall Irken guards with laser guns in their arms. Pink and magenta armor was fitted over their bodies, the Irken insignia painted on their shoulders. They did not look pleased. "Why didn't you open the door?" questioned the middle one.

"I would have, but I was in the bathroom. Not a very convenient time to answer the door, you know."

The middle one, who appeared to be the leader, huffed and pointed his gun at her. "Search the house," he ordered the other two. They saluted and scurried off, their armored boots pounding across the floors. The one with his gun pointed at Mae turned his head around to inspect the kitchen and living room.

"May I ask something?" asked Mae.

The guard turned back to her with a frown. "What?"

"What exactly are you doing? My house was already inspected last week."

"We were ordered to conduct random inspections for the human dwellings," he snapped. "After all we wouldn't want our slaves hiding anything from us now, would we?" He raised the gun and rested it against her throat.

Mae's breath hitched when she heard Irken footsteps tramping upstairs and felt the gun's end on her skin. "Of course not," she rasped, feeling her hands begin to shake. She clasped her hands slowly behind her back. _Please let Dib have escaped,_ she mentally pleaded.

"All clear!" voiced the other guards as they entered the kitchen. One of them saluted. "Nothing of suspicion was found, sir,"

The leader's common ruby eyes narrowed at Mae. He lowered his gun. "Good job, soldiers," he said. "Now let's report back to the king." They shuffled out the door single file, the leader giving Mae one last suspicious glance before closing the door.

Mae let out a trembling breath and leaned her back against her kitchen counter. "Oh earth..." she whispered, burying her face in her hands. She stood there for several minutes, calming herself. _Breathe slowly,_ she thought. _In. Out. In. Out._

When her heart stopped racing and slowed to a steady beat, she slipped up the stairs to her bedroom. Glancing around, she scanned the square room. Everything looked to be in place. The books on the shelves propped up against her blue walls showed no signs of disturbance. Her double bed with the navy and white checkered comforter was neatly made. Her prized red scarf stood tied onto one of the bed poles just as she had left it. She glanced at the window. Both the glass and the screen were open. Leaning against the bottom, she stuck her head out.

The cool night air hit her bare arms and she shivered. _Well, there's no one on the fire escape,_ she thought relieved. _He must have gotten away. Thank goodness._ She quickly ducked her head back in, shutting the screen and the glass behind her.

* * *

"Slave 024."

Mae whipped her head up to look at the Irken who had called her identity number. Her hands kneading a pile of dough stopped. "Yes?" she replied.

"You've been transferred. Get moving." The Irken pointed his zapping prod at her with a threatening look.

"Transferred?" Mae tried sound surprised. "Where?"

"To the king's kitchen. There's a transport and a guard waiting for you outside. Now move!"

She nodded quickly and scurried out the door of the small, simple bakery she had been assigned to. On the dirty sidewalk stood the same guard who had inspected her house just a few days before. Her eyes widened.

"Looks like we meet again," he chuckled with an evil glint in his eye. He seized the slave collar around her neck and poked her back with his gun. She wheezed and froze, arms locked to her sides. Frowning, she stared at the Irken in hatred. "Hold on," he chuckled.

They were both enveloped in a bright light and Mae felt like she was being ripped apart. _He's teleporting me,_ she realized, trying to block out the feeling of shredded limbs.

In a flash of bright light they were now in front of the town hall. The Irken guard let go of her collar and pushed her forward. "The door to the kitchen's that pink one on the side. Get going," he barked.

Mae gasped when she entered the kitchen. It was huge and full of other humans sporting the same collars she did, cooking and baking. Some were decorating pastries and others mixed bowls. Common among them was an expression of weariness and submission. Two Irkens stood back to back giving orders and angry cooking advice whenever someone messed up. Like most slave guards they held electric prods in their hands, happy to use them whenever someone slacked behind. One of them caught sight of Mae as she entered the door. "Hey, you!" he yelled. "Are you here to help make the cake? We received word a human slave experienced in baking was going to come make the grand cake."

Mae nodded and confirmed, "Yes, that's me."

"Then get over there." He pointed to the middle of the kitchen where several people stood at mixing bowls. One of them looked strangely familiar.

"Ita?" Mae asked softly as she approached the group.

The black-haired woman turned and gasped, her eyes widening in recognition. "Mae," she whispered back with a smile. "So our mutual friend transferred you, too?" Ita wiped her hands on her apron and sighed. "I've never even worked in food before. All I've been doing is following orders from Tom, the guy who's taken charge of the cake. He's nice, but very firm, not keen on upsetting the Irkens. Basically all he's put me on is mixing duty."

"Well, you're not alone now," Mae responded with a smile. "I was assigned to a bakery, so I can help you." She lowered her voice. "Were you informed of the plan?"

Ita winked. "Yup," she responded softly. "Do you have the item our friends cooked up?"

Mae smirked and pressed her hand against her wrist, where a packet of poison was slipped inside her sleeve. "Indeed I do."

"Hey, no chatting!" yelled an Irken from across the kitchen. The girls turned away from each other and quickly busied themselves with their tasks.

Mae found herself questioned by several of the others on the best way to make a cake: how many eggs? How long to mix? How much flour? How much sugar? How hot should the stove be? How long should it bake?

After some time, the cake batter was finally ready to be poured into the different cake pans, which would then be baked and stacked on top of each other to make one giant cake. "We should add it now," whispered Mae to Ita with a sideways glance. "Can you make a distraction?"

With a mischievous nod Ita picked up a bag of flour and ventured to the other side of the kitchen. "Accidentally" bumping into another worker, she dropped the bag. It hit the ground with a _POP!_ A large cloud of white dust had now settled on both her and the workers in her vicinity. Everyone turned to stare, even the two Irkens. "What happened?" one of them demanded.

"I accidentally dropped some flour," said Ita.

Mae turned away from the scene. _I can do this,_ she told herself. Her right hand reached into her left sleeve, feeling the jagged edges of the poison packet. About the size of her palm, its silvery edges glistened in the light. She tore open the seal and dipped the contents inside the batter. Stuffing it back into her sleeve, she swirling the mixing spoon and observed the white powder dissolved into the yellow batter. She jumped when a voice sounded behind her.

"What are you doing still mixing the batter?" inquired Tom. "It doesn't need to be mixed anymore. Separate it into the various pans."

Heart racing, Mae nodded with a sigh of relief. _I don't think he saw,_ she thought.

"Is it done?" Ita whispered once she returned to her station.

"Yes."

* * *

The cake was finally done and to Mae's surprise it was herself who was ordered to deliver it to the main hall. Leaving the large kitchen, she weaved through the long halls, balancing the tall cake on a plate. It stood grandly on its fancy plate, fit for a king. The icing was pink (no surprise), decorated with a Irken symbol on each layer. Fancy rosettes adorned the outer edges. Held at waist level, it towered higher than Mae's own head. At times it wobbled and every time it did she held her breath, but it did not fall.

She emerged into the main hall. A long table was set up with plates and seats. It stretched from one side of the room to the other. The tablecloth was pink- _why are the Irkens so obsessed with pink?_ Mae wondered-and plates of food upon food sat in the middle. There were sandwiches, donuts, fun dip, basically everything rich in sugar and carbohydrates. Still, when Mae set the cake on the table, it made all the other food look rather sad.

Though it was going to be eaten by aliens, Mae couldn't help but feel a bit of pride when she saw the cake. She had helped decorate it, using her artistic abilities to craft the beautiful rosettes around the edges. Too bad it was poisoned. _I almost wish to have a slice of it,_ she thought with a small smile.

"Are you the one who made the cake? I don't remember you being a part of the kitchen staff." Mae whipped around, gasping when she saw the last person she'd expected to encounter: Zim. She quickly glanced away.

"Um, well, I helped," she said slowly, staring at the cake. "But… I would say it was more of a… collaborative effort. We all worked together to make it and… I was transferred just today. I don't know why, it just happened."

A mechanical whirring was heard and out of the corner of her eye Mae saw Zim extend his PAK legs, towering over her to examine the cake, "It's very appealing," he remarked in a strange tone.

 _Just what is he trying to get at?_ she wondered.

He suddenly turned to look at her with a frown. She refused to meet his gaze, though she eyed him in her peripheral. "Who are you?" he questioned.

She still didn't look at him, simply answering, "I'm Slave 024."

The Irken's ruby eyes took on a knowing expression. He smirked, tone lowering in slight intensity. "Oh yes, that sounds familiar. Hmm, where have I heard that number before? You do look so familiar..."

Mae studied the red rosettes, remembering the rhythmic way she had formed them, from left to right, left to right.

"AHA!" Mae jumped at the Irken's sudden increase in decibels. "You're Maven Brown, friend of the Dib filth, aren't you?"

She frowned. "Well, we used to be," she corrected. "Until he went into hiding. I haven't seen him in almost a year."

"How did you know he went into hiding?" Zim asked with a suspicious tone. "I wasn't aware I had made that common knowledge."

Mae's heartbeat quickened and she quickly countered, "Well, that's what i assumed. After all, human friends tend to keep in touch and when one hasn't seen one's friend for almost a year, that would be the most logical answer."

"How do you know he's not dead? That seems more logical than assuming he's trying to hide. After all, I would think someone in hiding would reach out to someone dear to them to let them know they were alright. At least, that's what I've observed amongst you smelly humans."

A long silence filled the air. Mae shifted uncomfortably. Zim eyed her a second time. "Well, my… _king,_ I should get back to my kitchen duties now," she said with a flush as she turned to leave.

"Wait."

She stopped in her tracks and turned around. "Yes?"

"Come here."

She slowly approached. He was still towering over her on his PAK legs. "What do you need?"

Something… malicious was peeking through Zim's eyes. He smiled with a strange gaze that bore into her soul before swiping a knife from his PAK and digging into the cake. "I don't want to risk the chance that someone might want to harm me," he remarked while picking up a small slice of cake.

Mae's eyes grew large. "But who would dare make an attempt on your life?" she asked quietly. "And isn't the cake supposed to be eaten later at the celebration?"

"Oh don't worry about the cake," Zim said, suddenly turning to face her. Holding the cake slice in his three-fingered hands, he thrust it out to her with a simple command. "Try it for me, just to make sure it won't harm me."

She stumbled backward a foot. "But why? Surely-"

"Try it," he said with an evil grin. "Or is there something wrong with it? It's just a cake. Last I recalled humans aren't hurt by cake."

Mae gulped. With trembling fingers she took the cake. It was moist and sweet-smelling and stuck to her fingers. She glanced up at Zim who just stared back expectantly. "Well?" said he.

Slowly she brought it to her lips. silently wishing for some distraction, _anything_ that would prevent her from taking a bite. "Please," she pleaded. "I don't see why-"

Zim scowled and took several steps toward her. "Eat it," he demanded.

Mae could feel her heartbeat racing. Sweat began to form on her forehead. With silent pleading she stuck the corner in her mouth and bit down before quickly pulling away. It hung in her mouth, unmoving, She glanced up at Zim again. "Swallow," he commanded.

Her heart must have been close to leaping out of her chest. Working her jaw, the piece of cake did not taste bad, but the haunting ingredient loomed over her. She swallowed quickly. It slid down her throat like sweet glue. She trembled and wiped her brow before looking up at Zim again.

Zim watched her. She felt fine at the moment, but… was that rumble in her stomach? Did it hurt or was it just nerves? Was her trembling the poison or just worry? Several seconds passed. Her nose began to drip and her breath hitched. _Oh my,_ she thought. _Is it hot in here?_

More moments passed. A wave of nausea punched Mae in the gut. She groaned and clutched her torso, one hand over her stomach and the other on her chest. Her breaths grew short, her chest heavy. Imaginary fire ants crawled through her throat.

Suddenly the cake was taken from her hands and thrust it into another Irken's. "Throw this out, Smoo," Zim ordered, withdrawing his PAK legs with a knowing grin at Mae. "In fact, Smoo, throw the whole cake out. It needs to be remade. Oh, and make sure that whoever makes it is watched… _carefully_." Smoo saluted and scurried away. Zim turned back to Mae with a scowl. "You may go, _human_ _filth._ "

Mae turned and stumbled from the room. When she reached the kitchen, she could barely stand. Leaning against a kitchen counter for support, she gasped repeatedly. Ita caught sight of her. "Mae, what's wrong?" she cried.

"Zim… made me… eat the cake," she wheezed, a new wave of nausea passing over her.

Ita's eyes grew in horror, Glancing at the clock, she said, "Come on, Mae. Luckily our shift is over." Ita wrapped the poor girl's arm around her for support and together they stumbled toward the exit.

"Hey, where are you going?" cried one of the guards.

"Our shift is over!" snapped Ita. "You can check if you want."

The Irken grunted in annoyance before waving them off. With silent gratitude Ita and Mae stumbled out the door, but as soon as the sun hit Mae, she cried out and fell forward. Ita screamed her name as she collapsed on the ground and everything went black.


End file.
